Throwback Thursday #2

I'm going through some of the stuff that got rescued from the flood...a little crinkling on the edges but "saved" and I'm glad so here goes....

Lauri.....wow. Painful. Comments welcomed...............

Here's one of my favorite pictures of five of my favorite people...once again. Comments welcomed.  I know they were headed to Havasupi....and I know they returned, for which I'm grateful. I think this was one last hurrah before Lauri went on her mission.

Couldn't resist sharing this one....thought it was lost. I made these two sing at one of my class reunions. What we do to show off our kids....borders child abuse. They seemed willing (maybe I bribed them) and they were adorable. Lots of memories passing through this house as I'm here trying to get it put back together. Love these kids and I loved that I got to spend my best years raising them. This mom has been well rewarded....many times over.

I've said it before....

...and I'll say it again right here and now; the only thing I like more than baseball, is little boys playing baseball and we got a good heavy dose of  "goodness" this past week-end with four games in two days.....

.....and a couple of them were real  "nailbiters". I'm sure I've shared this before but just a reminder that I've been through a couple of those in my life-time and I have to admit, we're playing against teams that are coached by some of my boy's arch rivals....and even tho' they are little boys, we all instinctively want the win...

...but as a grandma, I don't take it as seriously and I do enjoy it more. Just want my little ones to love the game and as the tears flow, I'm not sure they do, but then again, if it's worth crying over, I guess it's worth working harder and getting better. The day they don't love it is the day they need to hang up the glove but I sure do love watching them...

...and I enjoy watching my boys coach. They want their boys to have a positive experience like their dad did for them and so far, I think they are all having a good time...and speaking of "nailbiters".....

....never again will I take a tonsillectomy lightly. After what we went through with Traci in December, I was a little nervous when Matty went in for one but they always say, children do better than adults. Maybe so, but poor little Matty had to go back in and get hers cauterized......it's so hard to see little ones so miserable.I asked her what I could bring her to make her feel better and she said she wanted a pink sweater 'cause she threw up blood all over her purple one.

She's trying so hard to feel better...but I can still see the pain....but she's pretty in pink, don't ya think? Glad to have that one done. It's been good to be here and help out where I can and be a part of their lives, both in pleasure and in pain. We are blessed beyond compare; for that I am grateful.

Here's to "Throwback Thursday"....

...and I didn't really know what it was but I guess it's become a digital trend and because I've gone digital and I'm trendy....here goes.

Oh, yeah.....we were so cool. Those middle four, Phyllis, Mary Ann, Me and Carol Ann hooked up last week and had a good 'ol visit. We've been together a good long time and it's always fun to throw together a little party when we're in the same town. These really were the good 'ol days. Fact: I did my own hair. D'ya like it?

Took my friends out to check out what's going on at "The Farm"....and even though it's not the farm any more, I'll always remember it as the gathering place for old things and good memories. That old tan Chevy took us on more than one family vacay to Cali.

It was a sad day when this old house got hauled away but in it's place is a beautiful new neighborhood. Out with the old and in with the new....and speaking of houses. Mine is old too....not this old but coming up on 34 years.....had a flood, you know, so I've been trying to put it back together.

The first thing I'm gonna do when I get it fixed and back in working order is have a "Crazy Grandma Camp".
This basement has served us well.....go HERE to read "Ode to my Basement". I'll be so glad to have it back!!!!!

I'm feelin' the love....

It's not often that I get a hand delivered note from a little first-grader and this one definitely was special, along with a visit. I do feel loved by all 17 of my little ones and I love them back....actually, to the moon and back. Thank you to my Jack....this made my day and I do love doing these things with my grand kids.

I really like the art work too. 

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 After reading Jon B.'s post about celebrities, it got me to thinking why we go gaga over them....well, maybe you don't but I do. I know we go to concerts and see our favorite performers but how often do we meet them in their normal, everyday lives....and when we do, why do we become aw struck? I've seen a few over the years (and embarrassed my family a bit) but I don't take it lightly and I usually try to snap a picture even though if I were a celebrity, I wouldn't like it very much but it's the price they pay for "celebrity" status and the $$$ I guess.

We traveled to LA with a group from St. George to watch Bruce Hurst play ball....that was pretty big stuff for the boys.....but at the airport, the stars were certainly out that day.

....I was actually star-struck beyond belief. The Reber's and Jolley's were happy to oblige me but I couldn't get my boys to even get in the picture. (top left)

 Then there was the time we saw Clyde Drexler at the Marriott in Salt Lake. Couldn't convince the boys to sit down by him but I got the picture anyway. I think my favorite "celebrity moment" however was when we were in Switzerland and got to visit and tour the mansion of Charlie Chaplin and meet some of his family.

It wasn't really open to the public but our tour guide had some "ins" with the fam and got us there. Didn't know much about Charlie but loved learning about him and watching Robert Downey Jr. portray him on the big screen.

George Clooney has this to say about it all....

"When [actors] get to a place [of recognition], it's because they are actually taking risks that a lot of people wouldn't take because it's embarrassing. [Those risks that he talks about are constant auditions, constant rejection, constant bad roles or films, just to make it in their chosen field]. Humiliation is one of the greatest fears in the world. Actors risk humiliation every time they go to an audition. You're gonna have to get a tough, thick skin and go, 'I still think I'm on the right track, and still think I'm going the right way. You'll succeed as long as you have…because confidence is one of the big things you're selling too."

I have to admit, I've never really thought of it that way. They really do have to go through a lot to make it in the business. I actually really appreciate the talent in most of them, respect the ones that respect their "celebrity" and don't respect the ones that don't earn that respect. I just got done watching The Golden Globe awards....and I do have to say, I think I'm mostly amazed by the talent that they possess and marvel that they can survive in the business. I do enjoy my celebrities. When I was a kid, John Wayne, Susan Hayward, Marlon Brando and others lived in our neighborhood. I don't think I really grasped the concept of celebrity back then but I knew it was something out of the ordinary. We would sneak over to the neighbors back yard and watch John Wayne and his buddies smoke and play poker in the garage. We even went Trick or Treating at Marlon Brando's house but his housekeeper told us to go away.

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He may not be a celebrity, but he's a hero to his boys and is a mighty fine husband and father...

..and it's his birthday today. (16th)

I appreciate all he is and all he does for this sweet family. (I stole these cute pics from Traci's blog)

So cute.....

This picture has "happy" written all over it so I'll just add "birthday"....

Happy Birthday, Russ.

Why do we live in St. George.....

.....because you can golf by day, ski by night, just up the road a bit at Brian Head.  Um...sounds pretty good to me. I didn't do it but my kids did. Actually, they golfed Friday, skied on Saturday night....

...and I kayaked on Friday (in Folsom at Lake Natoma), also a pretty good place to live, so I guess you could say, I pretty much have the best of both worlds. (I don't golf or ski but I do enjoy being out in the winter sunshine).....

We checked out Lake Natoma and it was such a nice day...got a couple of hours in before sundown...

One of my favorite places. You can see the Sacramento Temple in the background there. A foot shot just to put it in perspective. I know some are against the proverbial foot shot....but sometimes, ya just gotta do it.

Here's some of the sights we see while rowing on the water.....

Just enjoying some chill time after a long day of work...doesn't get much better.

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Below is a note from the newsletter of one of my favorite knitters (she's an author too, but mostly I just like her because she knits). I thought I'd try this out.....WORD OF THE YEAR. This is Debbie Macomber......

Every January I ask God to give me a word to focus on for the coming year.  I knew my word for 2013 was from God because it was certainly not a word I would have chosen! 

God spoke the word "submit" to me.  It has been a challenging word, but also very rewarding.  God has reminded me that when I submit to his perfect leading, grace and power, then and only then am I truly free.  

This year, I have felt the Lord speak the word "light" to me.  I can't wait to see how he uses "light" in my life this year.  If you ask God for a word each year, I would love to hear what your word is.  Please share it with me on my Facebook page.  If you have never asked for a word before, I challenge you to give it a try. You might be surprised how well the word you receive fits the year ahead.  

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So....I tried it and my word is ACCEPT.  I've thought a lot about it and it's good for me because I pretty much "kick against the pricks" most of the time and I've learned to accept myself, my circumstances, my wanting to be in both places, my short-comings and imperfections (as I try to work on them) and just everything in general that comes my way; do my best and let Him do the rest.  It's a little like the word SUBMIT but we'll see how it goes. So far, so good. I've learned a lot and I'm just getting started.

It's Friday again....

..... one of my favorite days of the week and a time to think of my favorites. Sunsets are right up there on my list and last night's was the most amazing one I've seen in a long time and a camera just can't capture it but I did try...

We are praying for rain and snow here in the Sacramento area....as beautiful as this temple is, things are looking pretty dry.....

I love all the water surrounding this beautiful area and everything is running pretty low these days.

"A kayaker rows near the remains of the old Gold Rush town of Mormon Island. Due to the low water levels in Folsom Lake, remnants of the town are beginning to appear. The area was flooded for Folsom Dam in 1955. Some foundations and relics can be seen on the ground, but most of the town is still underwater."....   and as we rode through Lake Tahoe last Friday on our way home, there surely wasn't much snow there for sledding and other winter recreation.....however, (and speaking of snow)...

...I think St. George broke a few records for cold....here's a couple of my favorite people making an amazing snowman....and one of my favorite days ever was the day Spencer was born, 38 years ago. Happy Birthday, Spence....father of these awesome kids...(and husband to Shana)...

...lovin' life in Southern Utah after 9 very long years in Kentucky. One of my favorite things is watching Spencer enjoy life with his family, hiking the trails and enjoying these beautiful surroundings....

This is the essence of Spence.....just taking it all in. Loving the good life.....and while living it, recording it. I was the very grateful recipient of his life journal from the age of about 8 when he started recording. An inspiration to us all in the keeping of journals....which we are all admonished to do.

Along with journaling, he keeps a weekly blog which turns into a great picture history of his young family that will be treasured forever. If you'd like to visit, I'm sure he won't mind....wellsweirdos.blogspot.com We blog because we can turn them into really nice history books. It helps us stay connected to one another as well....may you have many more years of blogging and history making but may this day be a celebration. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Spencer....I hope you get some cheesecake today (and lunch at Benja's and dinner at B-Dubs). I gotta add one more favorite today.....here's a picture that came through, I think from JoEllen.

Scott is enjoying these two little grandkids, Laynee and George....the only ones he got to know in his life on earth. This one just makes my heart happy.....

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2014/01/07/6054675/state-water-officials-considering.html#storylink=cpy

It was two days ago....

...but I still want to do a post about favorites and I was going to call it Favorite Friday because I found this picture when I was cleaning up my flood and it was my all-time favorite vacation and this has to be one of my favorite pictures.....I mean, really....how often do you get your whole family in the log.....

 ...and speaking of favorites, check out Mandy there in front....it's her birthday today. She's the mom of this awesome family and she always makes me feel loved and accepted and this is one of my favorite pictures of them....

...and she runs and looks really good while doing it.  What more can I say except that I love ya tons, Mandinga....hope you have a big ol' HAPPY BIRTHDAY.

...and speaking of Friday, we were traveling on that day and one of my favorite things is a good road trip and this is a good one. I'm not sure Randy would agree; he says it's just way too long but to me, it's not, 'cause I like going through some little tiny towns, wondering what the people do there....

 ....and watching what's going on to the side of the road....(and on the road). We caught these sheep being herded.....

..and it was pretty cool.

From what I could see, they had a long way to go to get to "some place"......

  ...then there was the shoe tree that I had seen a couple of times before but never stopped to take a picture.

 ...but my very favorite part of a road trip is watching the clouds....

One last favorite. One of my favorite things about living in California is growing an orange tree....and I did. Came home to four oranges....and they really are pretty good.

Picked our first ones and ate them today. Thanks for letting me share a few of my favorite things. What are some of yours???

Goin' out big.....

...with about three weeks worth of stuff to post but here goes. I think I ended with "The Flood" so I'll start there. I was headed out the door on Monday, December 16th knowing I couldn't just sit on my butt in Folsom when there was a flood in my house. As I went to turn off the t.v., there was a news story about a little girl that had died after a tonsillectomy, so.....instead of heading down 99, I took off over the top of Nevada and headed to Bountiful to check on my Traci and give her a couple more days of help. Yeah, I'll admit I over-react (I'm working on it) and I also felt like it was a sign for me to go there.....'cause at one time I thought she was gonna die. (I think she thought so too, it was so awful).

...and, thankfully, I found everything just fine but I was glad I got to be there for two more nights to help her out and hug her little boys (she was still struggling with pain and inability to eat anything)......and I got to take in Jake's and Scott's piano recital. Then it was time to head on down the road to check out the damage.

Yep, things were a mess. ServPro was in the midst of throwing everything away....we were able to salvage some photos, furniture and a few blankets from under the stairs (thanks, JoEllen for laundering some of my favorite quilts) but there was still a lot of stuff that was lost and that's o.k. Time to reduce and simplify in this house and that we did.

It was awesome to have a dumpster in front of my house for a few days. A whole lot of stuff got thrown away and a few little neighbor "dumpster divers" had a blast.

Phyllis stopped by for a visit and we just happened to find a picture of our trip to China in 2008. 

Good time reminiscing goodtimes. It's good to have friends and family for support during these times. However, we can't let a little misfortune keep us from having some holiday fun. The Gingerbread House Extravaganza was moved from my house to JoEllen's. She's a trooper to make 18 gingerbread houses for our crew and I love how they get into it. The little kids are getting big enough that they love the detail and the process. Laynee had even checked out ideas online for her masterpiece.

They enjoyed some playtime while everyone was finishing and got a little crazy with the icing.

They were all really good but George came out the winner this year. JoEllen', (top right) got "Most Religious". Mine was "Most Traditional". James is the best judge ever and comes up with some really good categories. Everyone is a winner at our party. 

One of my favorite traditions is our hike on the Red Hill on Christmas Eve. I've come to really appreciate being outdoors, especially on our beautiful winter sunshine days.

This year did not disappoint....after the hike, we headed to B-Dubs. Hopefully, a new tradition. Check out Spencer's Blog for another take on this tradition...Click HERE.

Christmas Eve at my mom's.....such a longstanding tradition, I don't even dare guess how many years we have been doing this but we all know what to bring and I'm sure it's stressful for her but we all love it. 

Colleen has been doing games for 20 or so years and passed the torch to Lauri.

We enjoyed some "Minute to Win it" and a little "Mad Lib" Christmas Carols......Kyle and the kids have to keep them riddled with a little "potty language" but it's all in good fun.

Lauri and James joined me Christmas morning and it was so fun to have them here. A little inconvenient without my basement but it was a good mess and we did enjoy Lucy and Molly. Christmas is for kids for sure.

Next, Home Run Derby , I mean, Kickball Palooza. Yep, a new tradition but equally fun and everyone was involved. 

A few lessons in sportsmanlike conduct had to be learned but the competition was fierce as should be expected. 

I had to add this classic picture of James....yep, it was his game. Home run every time.

Beautiful day and good times.

then on to mom's for Christmas lunch. Somewhere in the week we got a trip in to Jumpin' Jacks.... Randy and Kaila showed up and we headed to the hill one more time to find that Geocache I had been looking for. We actually found two of them in about the same area. Jake came along and loved, loved, loved it.....

He chose an old Arby's coupon for a turnover and was so excited. He said..."My mom will celebrate me." Such a little "treasure finder"......Randy loved taking him to his swim lessons when we were in Bountiful helping out so he told them to be sure and bring their suits. We took a few of them to the SHAC and it was a blast.

We always like it when Lauri cooks us Mexican food and she invited everyone over to my messy house but we feasted on some awesome stuff. 

I always love it when the family gets together especially seeing my sons and daughters interact with each others children and the cousins getting along together.

I especially love the pictures of Harry and Molly, wondering what the conversation was at the fire hydrant.

Goodbyes are always hard but it was sure great to have everyone here for a bit, enjoying some longstanding family traditions and making some new ones.....

 Cousins enjoying cousins....

...and sisters being sisters.  So now....we dig in and start the new year with some new goals. Of course, mine is to put my basement back together as quickly as possible. Randy got the ceilings painted and lights switched out.

What a guy. We were beat so didn't celebrate much. Had Chinese take-out with my mom, poured the bubbly and hit the sack about 10....

I'm sure I've left something out but we've crammed a lot into a couple of weeks so anyone that makes it this far, may our 2014 be a great new year with lots of renewal, rejoicing, and remembering with gratitude for all the good in our lives. I can't end this blog without paying tribute to my dad....he would have been 86 years old on this day.....

One of my favorite pictures with my dad....and one of a very few of me and him. I miss him tons. Happy Birthday, Evan Hal Sullivan. We all miss you so much.

I know my mom misses him too....

Celebrating Dad at Chuck-a-Rama. He would have loved this and he would say...."and to think I'm responsible for all of this." He loved his posterity.